Some Guys Collect Stamps

“2000 miles is very far

The snow is falling down

It’s colder day by day

2000 miles is very far

Through the snow”

                        Chrissie Hynde

Yesterday morning I met our little group at the Belleview Elementary School parking lot for a run around Cherry Creek State Park.  It was nine degrees when we started. Special thanks to Ken for bringing hand warmers.

A lap starts at the crosswalk, heads north along Dayton Street, crosses the dam road, follows the path that parallels the dam about 140 feet below the road, and briefly runs adjacent to Parker Road before entering the park at the East Lehigh Avenue entrance.  We follow the path to where it connects with Lake View Road and run towards Dixon Grove and the Tower Loop.  At that turn around we regard the ice fisherman.  What other guys would be out on a morning like that enjoying their hobby?  We continue on the road through the park, exiting at the West Entrance and head back to the middle school. 

One lap is eleven miles.  We added a few more miles just for fun.  That 11^th mile represented the 2000^th mile I have run this year.  There are two more days to increase that total.  My average run is 10.6 miles.  You may have run more miles than I did this year.  If you did, you understand the sense of accomplishment I feel.

I also swam 369,750 yards or roughly 210 miles this year.  My average swim workout is about 3,800 yards.  You may have swum more yards than I did this year.  If you did, you know how difficult it is to overcome the inertia of being in a warm bed and jump into a chilly pool.

I rested 79 days this year – just over 11 weeks – or roughly three days off every two weeks.  I could not have run as many miles or swam as many yards without taking that much rest. 

I posted a weekly account of my year in running.  This may be the worst writing you’ve read, but you did read it. 

Why do I do it?  Running fits my belief system; Simplicity of Life, Directness of Purpose, and Self Reliance.  

I occasionally reflect on what my life would be like without athletics.  It would be less full.  It has taken me to some remarkable locations, Henley England for example.  Being an endurance athlete is one of the things that defines me.  Right now, I describe myself as a runner who swims for cross training. 

And what have I learned?  Consistent activity is the most important factor in performance.  A long run, a track workout and a little speed work each week will make you a fixture on the podium.

And what’s next?  I can’t wait to find out. 

Papa Needs a New Pair of Shoes

‘Tis the season for annual running shoe guides.

Blah, blah, blah daily trainer

Blah, blah, blah lightweight stability

Blah, blah, blah arch control

Blah, blah, blah midsole plates

Blah, blah, blah high-mileage

Blah, blah, blah asymmetrical lacing

Selecting a running shoe is daunting.  There are more makes and models than there are for cars or cereals.  My first search criteria eliminates a lot.  I need a size 13 E or EE.  Anything narrower pinches my toes and gives me blisters.  It is surprisingly difficult to find that size shoe.

I am cheap, but I do not buy cheap shoes.  There is a very narrow range of running shoes I consider.  I am more concerned about the durability of the tread than I am about the thickness and density of the cushion.  I buy shoes that last.

I have run almost 2,000 miles this year.  The majority of my miles have been run on two pairs of shoes; Nike Lunar Elites and New Balance 690s.  If I were really anally retentive, I would have exact figures, but I estimate I have run about 800 miles on each pair.  I can tell you these shoes hold up to the pounding a 175 pound shuffler puts on shoes.

The cynic in me sees a whole industry that has been created around the very simple act of running.  Abebe Bikila ran barefoot.  The original Boston Marathon winners ran in leather shoes.  As my crew coach, Bill Sanford, used to say “It’s the horses, not the chariot.”

Still, choice is good and what sets my sail may be unacceptable to others.  I don’t need the latest fashion and I recognize that the best advances in running shoe technology five years ago have now trickled down to almost all running shoes.  So, I’ll let the market figure out what the best advances are.

My advice for buying running shoes is simple.  If a shoe is uncomfortable in the store, it will be uncomfortable when you run.  Buy something that feels good on your feet. 

When you are done with your running shoes, bring them to the Runners Roost and drop them off in the bin.  That way they’ll get donated to RecycledRunners, which finds other uses for them.

The International Surfing Hall of Fame is in Huntington Beach, CA (aka Surf City).  At the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street you will find, embedded into the sidewalk, the hand and foot prints of many of the legends of surfing.  You can compare your feet with the likes of Kelly Slater and Taj Burrow.  One of the things you will notice is how their toes are evenly spread apart.  I don’t think these guys have ever worn shoes.  I will never be a foot model and my toes will never look like these guys.  That explains why I can’t surf.

Happiness is a Long Run with Friends

A man is in a quandary.  His daughter’s wedding falls on a Saturday at noon, which conflicts with his weekly group run with his friends.  He needs the miles to keep his average weekly mileage up, but promises his wife that he is only going to run ten miles and come straight home.  “Look” he says “we start at 7:00.  I’ll run ten miles and won’t stick around to chat.  I’ll be home by 9:00.”  The wife doesn't believe him because he always runs at least 15 and usually 20 miles. 

On his way to meet his friends he sees a woman who is having car trouble so he stops to help.  She is so grateful that she invites him to her house and offers him some sports drink.  He knows he shouldn't, but figures he could still get to the trail and run five miles.  Well, one thing leads to another and they wind up in bed together.  By this time it is almost 11:00.  On his way home he is trying to think up an excuse to tell his wife.  He finally decides to just tell her the truth.  When he walks in the door his wife is standing there waiting for him.

"Where the hell have you been?" she asks.  "I was on my way to meet the guys and stopped to help a woman who was having car trouble.  She invited me to her place for some sports drink and we wound up in bed together."

His wife just looks at him and says, "You lying S.O.B., you ran 20 miles and you know it."

This joke is preposterous.  Let’s analyze it.

Where is this guy’s man-card?  A dude who lets his women schedule anything that could interfere with his running is foolish.

Stopping, to help the woman with car trouble?  This guy is clearly weak-willed and easily distracted.  Does the lion stop to help the hyena when he is chasing the gazelle? 

Sports drink is fuel, not refreshment.  ‘Nuff said.  If she were truly grateful, she would have told him how hot he looked in tights.

How does this runner let himself get lured into bed with this woman?  We yadda, yadda, yadda over that part.  This shows his lack of discipline.  Everyone knows running is better than sex.  That moment of passion, how long does that last?  Barely long enough to break a sweat.  What kind of a workout is that?  You burn more calories running a 5K and usually end up with a T-shirt for your efforts.

And A Side Order of Lecture

There are never enough hours in the day to finish all of the items on your to-do list and at this time of year, there are even fewer.  The shortest day of the year is fast approaching.  This past week the days were about 9 hours and 25 minutes long, therefore we had about 13 hours and 35 minutes of darkness each day.  Assuming you have a day job and that your typical run is about an hour long, this means you are most likely going to be running in the dark for some part of your run.  This is the time for safety.

The other morning I was running along a fairly well traveled road near my house.  There are light posts spaced about 100 yards apart.  I use these as focus points for my Fartlek runs.  The intervals between the lights are relatively dark stretches.  It was in one of these sections that I was startled when a figure emerged out of the darkness.  They had been bent over stretching, and stood up; scared the bejeezus out of me.  They were dressed all in black with a dark red ski hat.  They were better dressed for a robbery.  There was not a stitch of reflective clothing on them.  This interaction took place just a few hundred yards from the intersection of Dad Clark and Broadway where Sherry Peters was struck and killed by a car while jogging in the crosswalk this past spring. 

Being alert and safe doesn’t stop when the sun comes up.  A neighbor of a co-worker was hit by a car in the middle of a sunny Saturday afternoon.  The driver was looking at on-coming traffic from the left and did not look to the right to see this runner.  When asked if the accident could have been avoided if he had just stopped, the runner said yes, but he knew he had the right of way.  Being in the right won’t mean much if you’re dead. 

A quick Yahoo search uncovers hundreds of stories of runners who were killed after being hit by cars, many due to errors in judgment by the runners.  When runners and cars collide, the runner always loses.  Most of the time drivers are looking out for other drivers, not runners.  It is your responsibility to protect yourself.

I wear a reflective vest when I run in the dark.  I run on the sidewalk.  I almost never cross major thoroughfares.  If I approach an intersection and there is a car present, I come to a complete stop and wait for them to go. 

Life is short.  Don’t make it shorter by doing something stupid.

TOYF vs MTWSA

The key to running a good marathon is building the stamina to run for three or more hours.  The training component that prepares us for that is the long run.  There are those who insist that what is important is time spent on one’s feet rather than miles or pace because the body doesn't know miles and pace.  This came to mind Friday night while I was officiating a high school swim meet.  The meet involved six schools and lasted four hours.  I spent virtually the entire time standing.  I recalled reading that Emil Zatopek, the most remarkable athlete in the history of long distance running, went on day long hikes as part of his training regimen.  If I’d been running, I would have probably covered 30 miles in that time. 

Here are the training methods of some of distance running’s greatest athletes. 

In the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, Zatopek won the magic distance triple-the 5000 meters, the 10,000 meters and the marathon, setting Olympic records in all three.  He would jog for hours on the same spot, reading a book or listening to the radio.  On wash days at home he piled all the dirty clothes in the bath and then ran on them for hours.  He would sprint from telephone pole to telephone pole holding his breath.  His common sense led him to interval training.  One component of a workout might be 50 x 100 meter sprints.  It was widely rumored that he could run 60 x 400 meters in 60 seconds.  For fun, he and his wife Dana (the gold medal winner of the javelin at the Helsinki Olympics) played javelin catch - seriously. 

Lasse Verin won the 5,000 and 10,000 meters events at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.  Four years later he defended his titles in both events at the Olympics in Montreal and finished fifth in the Marathon. 

Verin chose to utilize the varied methods and philosophies of many others to develop his training regimen.  From the famed Arthur Lydiard, he took the concept of high mileage and long aerobic runs, sometimes putting in 150 miles per week.  From Hungarian coach Mihaly Ingloi, he chose to utilize wind sprints, alternating 50 meters of hard running with 50 meters of easy for 2 or 3 miles on the track.  From distance great Paavo Nurmi, he elected to perform continuous runs at a steady pace.  And from American coach Bill Bowerman, he selected the option of the hard\easy approach to training by following his incredibly hard workout days with two or three days of easy runs in the forests of Finland.  Being Finish, there are no funny anecdotes about Verin. 

Bill Rogers is a four time winner of the Boston and New York City marathons.  I stumbled across Bill’s training log for 1975.  Other than intervals on the track, there is little mention of the pace he did his runs.  Here’s a typical entry – “In the upper 30° 's - ran 16 miles over easy hills course at OK pace at 11:15 am and 13 miles + over flat course at 3:30 pm.”  When he was thirsty, he drank pickle juice out of the jar - seriously. 

I think I’m onto something with my ‘Marathon Training While Standing Around’ method.  Next week I will be officiating an eight-team meet.  One hour of standing burns about 250 calories, so I’ll probably burn about 1,250 at that meet.  If I add the Tai Chi Standing pose, imagine how strong I’d get.  Of course I’d look pretty stupid on the pool deck, but when has that stopped me?